a birth story... part one

I think it's about time I posted Layne's birth story. :) I still can't believe that he just turned 4 weeks old on Saturday.

So, it was March 1st. I was finally dead asleep, comfortable in my bed with each pillow strategically propping my big belly up. I jolted upright in bed and glanced at the clock - 4:17 a.m. What woke me? A gushing feeling... I had to contemplate whether I had accidentally peed on myself or if it was indeed my water breaking. There was only a small amount of liquid, so I wasn't 100% sure. I decided to get up and put a towel underneath me and monitor it, while trying to get some sleep. There were no contractions, so I knew I had some time if this was indeed "it." However, as soon as I laid back down in bed my back started killing me. I leaned over to wake Andy and told him that I thought that my water had broken. He immediately was awake and asking "What do you need me to do?" and "What do I do now?" I told him that he needed his rest for the day ahead and to go ahead and go back to sleep so he could get that rest.

I got up out of bed and did some laundry. I stashed a couple of outfits for the baby and myself in my hospital bag and made sure everything was in order. I quickly realized that I was having contractions. I went online and started timing them - coming 8-10 minutes apart. I was okay for a little bit longer. My back continued to throb! This was all new to me...contractions, labor, back pain, water breaking. None of which happened with Bayleigh without some assistance.

I woke Andy at about 6:30 a.m. and told him to take his time and wake up, but that this was it!
Taking his time flew out the window and he sat straight up in bed. :) I wanted a shower because I knew that it would be awhile before I would get one again. A girl's gotta shave before going to give birth, ya know? I knew that this was labor when I bent over to take my pants off and I gushed some more water into a puddle on the bathroom floor. So, I jumped in the shower and by this time my contractions were coming steadily every 8 minutes.

When I got out of the shower, I went to get dressed and Andy was out of bed and in Bayleigh's room. I got dressed and brushed my hair and joined them. For the first time in her short life, Bayleigh woke with a smile to the news that the baby was on his way. We were all very excited and trying to answer the millions of questions that Bayleigh had about how I knew it was time. Thankfully, we had her put to tasks and she quickly stopped asking us the hard questions.

I told Andy that he should go get breakfast after his shower. However, as he started the water for his shower, I realized that we didn't have that much time left. I peeked my head in the bathroom and told him to hurry and that we would get breakfast on the way. He chuckled and said okay. By the time he got out of the shower, my contractions were coming every 5 minutes and were getting increasingly more painful.

We stuffed Bayleigh in the car with her bag of toys, made sure we had the car seat all set, and put my suitcase in the trunk. We had waited to call our friends, Jorge and Laura, until 7 a.m. and they said to bring her on. They only live 2 blocks away from us, so it worked out perfectly. When we got to their house at 7:30, I got out of the car to help Bayleigh and give her a hug and I was in more pain now than when we left the house. It was hard to sit in the car without sharp pain and more back labor. We went through the McDonalds drive-thru and got some breakfast - me, a biscuit and juice; Andy, a McGriddle and juice. I wasn't that hungry, but I knew I wouldn't be eating for awhile, so I forced myself to gulp it down.

We drove down North Monroe and Meridian going well over the speed limit. Andy knew it was a rare opportunity to speed like heck through Tallahassee. So, he put on his flashers and went 10-15 mph over the speed limit. Funny guy!! I told him that he was going to make me have the baby right in the car if he didn't quit, as I held the panic handle through another contraction.

We got to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital at about 7:50 a.m. We parked in the parking garage and walked around trying to find the elevator in. I started to panic and worry that I would be out of time soon. We got in and went up to labor and delivery. We were told to wait in the lobby...but, they knew that this was pretty much it. I couldn't bear to sit in a chair, so I paced around the lobby. Finally, about 10 minutes later, they called us back to Triage and gave me the pleasant hospital gown to change into. As I changed in the bathroom, I noticed I was leaking more water still. So, I left the bathroom and got into the bed in my little corridor. It was about one contraction later that I realized just how uncomfortable the bed was...with the foot end sliding off the end of the bed. I had to roll onto my side with every contraction because of the incredibly strong back labor I was having. And let me tell you, these are not the beds to do this in. They are made for the 1800's laboring women - silent and motionless due to heavy narcotics.

Be back soon with part two added.... :) Gotta tend to a crying baby!

XO